NZAID's field blog gives an up-close and up-to-date insight on the realities of aid on the ground and discusses issues relevant to development work.
NZAID staff will update the blog as they travel to the field to visit NZ-funded programmes and projects.
NZAID is the New Zealand Government's international aid and development agency. NZAID's geographic focus is the Pacific region where we have close historic and human links; we are also working in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

On the ground in Afghanistan

Suzanne Loughlin is an NZAID Multilateral Development Programme Manager. She is currently in Afghanistan, and writes about the development challenges and achievements there.

The first days of this visit were spent getting into Kabul and meeting with partners in their Kabul headquarters. Some discussions focused on progress with implementing projects such as the UNIFEM work on establishing a Women’s Referral Centre in Bamyan, in collaboration with the Government of Afghanistan, to improve protection for women wanting to press charges or who have been accused of crimes and are in need of support. National partner Shuhada Organisation gave a presentation on outcomes of the Winter Teacher Training programme. Support to Shuhada is as much about providing opportunities for organisational development as it is for actual service delivery and the presentation showed significant progress.

One day only was scheduled for me in Kabul as the focus of NZAID’s work is in Bamyan and security is less of an issue there than it is in Kabul. I got to Bamyan mid-afternoon and went to the New Zealand Provincial Reconstruction Team (PRT) to meet with NZ Defence Force personnel and catch up on plans for New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully’s visit and the dawn ANZAC day ceremony.

After a chilly but beautiful dawn ceremony and breakfast, the party set off to Shahr-e Golgola, or City of Screams, and climbed to the top. The views are fantastic with snow-capped mountains in the distance and women, men and children going about early morning tasks in the villages below. The city gets its name from the time when Genghis Khan came through to avenge the death of his son. A young woman within the city betrayed the local Hazara people by giving away the source of water to the citadel and the siege was soon broken. However, instead of being rewarded by Genghis Khan for her troubles she was killed along with everyone else in the citadel – she was no longer seen as being trustworthy.

We then proceeded to the Bamyan Hospital where NZAID and the NZ PRT have been working in support of the Aga Khan Health Services who manage the hospital. New Zealand funding has been used to build a maternity ward, laundry and a new kitchen, which the Minister opened. A new out-patients building is also under construction and should be finished by the end of the summer. Minister McCully commented on the fact the substantial amount of concrete in the building had all been done by a very small mixer and poured wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow.

The group also visited the children’s ward, where staff were dealing with an outbreak of pneumonia. Despite major progress with facilities the hospital still cannot cater to the needs of those who do manage to access health services and currently there are four to a bed – two mothers and two children – in the children’s ward. Staff also noted that they would not be able to cope without the mothers as they are the ones who do most of the care-giving.

After tea and cake we proceeded to Bamyan University. The most significant change here this year is that 118 young women are enrolled in their first year of tertiary study. This is a significant increase on the two that were here in 2006!